Do we need to believe God exists to be saved?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Faith in God and His Son, Jesus, is critical to salvation. We learn that without faith, we are unable to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and are taught that only those who believe in God’s Son, Jesus, will be saved (John 3:16). Indeed, salvation rests on the belief that God raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 10:9–10), implicitly requiring belief in God. Ultimately, we owe our existence to God (Genesis 1:26–27; Acts 17:28). But because of sin, our relationship with Him was broken, and we are His enemies (Romans 5:10). His judgment against rebellious humanity is His eternal wrath (Revelation 20:14–15). However, out of mercy, He sent Jesus to provide one way of escape from His wrath (John 14:6), and to crush Jesus in the place of sinners (Isaiah 53:5–6, 10). God is the one who saves, and grants that salvation only to those who express faith in His Son (Ephesians 2:8–9). To not believe in the existence of God means one does not understand salvation. Therefore, one cannot be saved while also not believing that He exists.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Scripture teaches that “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1a). The evidence for God’s existence is all around us in creation as well as inside of us, in our conscience.
  
• Genesis 1:1 and subsequent verses teach us that God created everything. Because He did, we learn that nature is like a song that proclaims God’s existence to everyone: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun” (Psalm 19:1–4a).
• God made men and women distinct from the rest of creation, being in His image (Genesis 1:26–27). This means that humans are not simply intelligent animals but were created to rule over creation as God’s representatives, being like Him in our moral awareness (our consciences).
• God can call those who don’t believe in Him “fools” because the evidence of His existence is abundant. However, Psalm 14 alludes to why there are fools in the first place: “The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:1b–3).
• Everyone is corrupted by sin, and that sin blinds us to the realities of who God is. Corruption is part of God’s judgment against humankind when we first rebelled against Him in the garden (Genesis 3). Everyone dies because of that judgment (cf. Romans 5:12), not just physically but spiritually.
• When the Bible talks about “salvation,” it is salvation from that which separates us from God. It is also from salvation from the judgment that comes as a result of sin (i.e., Daniel 12:2).
• God established a relationship with the Israelites, beginning with a promise to their predecessor, Abraham. It was Abraham’s belief in God and His promises (Genesis 15:6) that led to the existence of Israel as God’s people. Clearly one must believe in God's existence in order to have a relationship with Him and to trust in Him.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The author of Hebrews taught that “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Thus, to be saved, one must believe that God exists since salvation comes from Him!
• Salvation is needed because humanity is corrupted by sin. In the future, God will judge all unrepentant sinners (Romans 5:9). If one does not believe that God exists, how can you be saved from His wrath and from what separates you from Him?
• Saving faith is a package deal. Denying either Jesus or the Father who sent Him (John 3:16; 1 John 2:23) is the rejection of true salvation.
• The New Testament also declares the foolishness of denying God's existence because He is known both in creation and in conscience. Romans 1:18–19 reads, “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (cf. Acts 17:28). Notice that God has made Himself evident to all. Those who deny that knowledge are those who want to continue in sin, but this does not dismiss the truth that God exists and will judge sin and those who continue in it.
• No one will be able to stand before God in the end and claim they didn’t have enough evidence that God existed. Romans 1:20 makes clear that creation reveals God's existence. Rather, those who reject Him will stand judged for denying the immense knowledge they did have (Revelation 20:14–15).
• What we know about God, either in nature or our conscience, is not enough for us to know how we can be saved from God’s wrath. We learn that from God's Word, the Bible, which teaches us the reason God sent His Son. It teaches that despite us being His enemies (Romans 5:10), He sent Jesus to die in our place. Though eternally God Himself (John 1:1), Jesus added human nature. In His humanity, Jesus was exactly like us except without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Being exactly like us meant that, unlike the insufficient animal sacrifices, He could fully satisfy God’s wrath against sin.
• When Jesus died on the cross, God publicly displayed Him as that propitiation (Romans 3:25; cf. Isaiah 53:5–6, 10). Because Jesus satisfied God’s wrath and conquered sin and death, those who were formerly God’s enemies can be saved if they trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 2:1–9). Faith in Him is the only way to be saved (John 14:6; Romans 10:9–10).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Salvation is meaningless without the premise that God exists. However, believing that God exists is not enough to be saved. We need to understand who He is, who we are, and how we are to relate to Him. God is holy and just. He is perfectly righteous and hates all unrighteousness. Everything against who He is is sin. And everything that is sin separates us from God. All sin will also be punished in an eternity in the lake of fire. Yet God is loving, gracious, and merciful and made the way for us to be saved. Salvation is the escape from that judgment and from the bondage of sin.

The truth of who God is and what He has done should move us away from treating unbelief as merely a difference of opinion. People are not without evidence of God—they are in need of hearts awakened to what is already true, which should lead us to pray more earnestly and share the gospel more intentionally.

Believers should be people who live out the reality that God is real in every sphere of life: decisions, conversations, priorities, and struggles. If you are struggling to believe God exists, we encourage you to do two things: 1) pray that He would reveal Himself to you, and 2) read the Bible because it is there that He reveals Himself to those who truly seek Him.

UNDERSTAND

• Salvation requires faith in God and Jesus.
• God’s existence is foundational to salvation.
• Denying God is a rejection of revealed truth.

REFLECT

• How do you respond to the truth that God exists?
• What rhythms do you have in your life that help you live in light of the reality that God exists?
• How does understanding that God exists and has made Himself known inform the way you engage with those who claim not to believe in God?

ENGAGE

• What does Romans 1:18–20 reveal about the relationship between general revelation, human responsibility, and the necessity of special revelation for salvation?
• How should we be challenged or encouraged by the reality that God exists as it relates to unbelievers?
• How should the truth that all people already have some knowledge of God inform the way we share the gospel?